Now This is a Story to Warm Your Heart… Conor McGregor Took Part in an Amateur Boxing Match in His First Gym, Crumlin Boxing Club in Dublin… Check Out the Footage Below…
There are a lot of things you can criticise about Conor McGregor and his recent actions, but you’ve got to hand the Irishman credit where it’s due. He’s intensely loyal to his roots and his closest friends, as his first combat sports gym found out the other night.
McGregor’s first foray into fighting was as a teenager when he began training at Crumlin Boxing Club, in Dublin. Traditionally a working-class area of the city, the gym is long established and helped to keep many youngsters out of trouble in a tough environment.
The Notorious took part in his first boxing match – well sort of – since the Floyd Mayweather fight, when he took on an amateur in a fight night at the Crumlin Boxing Club. Check out the clip below.
Class
You can see from the clip above the difference between an amateur fighter and an elite professional. McGregor is full of swagger and dances in the ring before they even begin to fight. As soon as the bell rings, he moves forward and almost decapitates the poor young lad who is against him.
McGregor moves fluidly, at one point even putting his hands behind his back which has become one of his trademarks. His young opponent swings wildly at him and ‘The Notorious’ easily slips his punches. You can bet though that even if he took a bit of beating it will be a great memory for the young lad to actually face off against the former two-time UFC champion in front of his friends and family.
Legacy
Crumlin Boxing Club is one of the most highly regarded in Ireland and has had illustrious names like women’s boxing sensation Katie Taylor, Philip Sutcliffe Jr, Anthony Yigit, and even the actor Daniel Day-Lewis pass through its hallowed doors.
Amateur boxing has long been seen as one of the most important Olympic sports in Ireland. It reached its pinnacle at the London games when Taylor won gold, John Joe Nevin took silver, and Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes both won bronze medals. All of those fighters have since turned professional with varying success.
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Conor McGregor on the pads with Bra Brady last night at Crumlin BC
Video: Aaron Dempsey pic.twitter.com/EajjmdeXgL
— Joe O'Neill (@J0E_90) April 18, 2019
Winning Mentality
Despite their humble origins, the Crumlin boxers are taught to have a winning mentality. You can see footage of McGregor hitting the pads with one of the club’s trainers. Incidentally, the guy who took this clip – Aaron Dempsey – beat Paulie Malignaggi on points in an amateur boxing match as a teenager. Rivalries run deep in this part of the world.
It’s definitely a nice distraction from the endless cycle of McGregor’s ongoing legal problems. While he’s completed the terms of his Brooklyn bus attack plea deal, he’s still got an alleged sexual assault charge hanging over him and that stupid phone incident. Hopefully, he will be back in the octagon in the summer or Autumn.
